Ohio is referred to as a “battleground state” due to its status as a “swing state” in presidential elections. But another important battle is brewing in the Buckeye State, also set to be settled in the voting booth.

This battle centers around a “Community Bill of Rights” referendum in Mansfield, OH and will be voted on in a simple “yes/no” manner. Mansfield is a city with roughly 48,000 citizens located 80 miles southwest of Cleveland and 66 miles northeast of Columbus, right in the heart of the Utica Shale basin.

Faced with the permitting of two 5,000 foot deep injection wells in Mansfield by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR)…[t]he amendment would drive a community Bill of Rights into Mansfield's charter and then prohibit the injection of fracking wastewater on grounds that such prohibition is necessary to secure and protect those community rights. The amendment also recognizes corporate “rights” as subordinate to the rights of the people of Mansfield, as well as recognizing the rights of residents, natural communities, and ecosystems to clean air and water.

DeSmogBlog has obtained images of flyers distributed via a well-coordinated direct mail campaign conducted by the oil and gas industry in Mansfield, made public here for the first time in an exclusive investigation.

“Mansfielders for Jobs,” Front Group, Leads Astroturf Charge

At the metaphorical 11th hour of the Mansfield referendum campaign, literally in the week before the vote is set to take place, a new group rose out of the dust called “Mansfielders for Jobs.” The group isn't traceable via LexisNexis or Factiva and has only been written about by the Mansfield News Journal on three occasions.

A group called Mansfielders for Jobs, which has not filed any campaign spending forms locally with the Richland County Board of Elections, has distributed a flyer [obtained by DeSmog] arguing the charter amendment would do nothing to improve the environment, and contains “vague wording” that would open the door for costly lawsuits that could hurt local small businesses.

Two days later, the Journal published a follow-up piece, further highlighting that Mansfielders for Jobs distributed a flyer that “lists no contact address and no campaign treasurer.” That flyer obtained by DeSmog says the “Bill of Rights” will “hurt job creation in our city.”

While this (charter amendment) is being marketed as a homegrown, organic movement coming from local concerned citizens, it is, in fact, a well-funded, coordinated effort being directed from a national organization opposed to the development of fossil fuels at every turn. This proposal … promotes a well-documented agenda under the guise of a local charter.

Two weeks later, EID Ohio chimed in with a blog post written by Anne Carto.

“Clearly, Mansfield needs to be shown facts before making a decision to deter business from coming to the area,” she opined. “As EID has covered before, Mansfield, Ohio is not in a position to create regulations that will hurt its chance for a better economy.”

Alfaro, according to his LinkedIn profile, formerly served as head of Ballot Access and as Field Representative for Republican John McCain's presidential run in 2008 in Ohio. His colleague Anne Carto, according to her LinkedIn, served as a Petitition Circulator in Ohio in the early days of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's run for President.

After FreedomWorks orchestrated the original Tea Party protests last April, it ostensibly handed over the reins of the movement to a third group, called the Tea Party Patriots. But internal correspondence from the group's private listserv obtained by Rolling Stone makes clear that FreedomWorks is still calling the shots.

When asked in an interview with DeSmogBlog where the idea and money for “Mansfielders for Jobs” originated from and whether or not it was an actual grassroots organization, Walter would not comment, only stating, “I don't know the exact date [of origin of the group], but my husband and I just feel strongly that this is bad legislation.”

History Repeating Itself

This isn't the first time the oil and gas industry has deployed its astroturf batallion to fight back against a local ordinance at the 11th hour.

One year ago, Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) waged an astroturf campaign to defeat the hotly contested fracking ban ordinance in Peters Township, PA. CEA - an oil and gas industry front group - came out on the winning side of this one, a testimony to the effectiveness of its slick public relations campaigns.

Right up to Election Day, Peters residents were receiving sleek fliers in the mail encouraging them to vote against a referendum to ban gas drilling in the Washington County community.

The mailers weren't coming from local opposition, but from Houston-based industry group Consumer Energy Alliance.

CEA's 2012 annual report lists the 2012 victory in Peters Township as one of its chief accomplishments.

A High Stakes, Life-or-Death Game in Mansfield

The stakes are higher than most would imagine in Mansfield.

ProPublica's Abrahm Lustgarten pointed out in a June 2012 investigation titled, “Injection Wells: The Poison Beneath Us,” that injection wells are a public health hazard in-the-making of epic proportions that hardly anyone is talking about. There are a staggering 150,000 injection wells in 33 states and 10 trillion gallons of toxic fluid have been dumped in them, according to ProPublica.

“In 10 to 100 years we are going to find out that most of our groundwater is polluted,” Mario Salazar, an engineer who worked for 25 years at the EPA's underground injection program told ProPublica. “A lot of people are going to get sick, and a lot of people may die.”

The battle in Mansfield - literally one of life and death - is on between corporate profits and scientific integrity.

We've let big industry pollute for too long in the name of jobs. I'm glad to see the people of Mansfield making a stand to protect the only planet we've got. Anyone not in Mansfield still has a choice tomorrow at the polls. They can choose to vote for politicians who will protect our planet for future generations.

Democracy is utterly dependent upon an electorate that is accurately informed. In promoting climate change denial (and often denying their responsibility for doing so) industry has done more than endanger the environment. It has undermined democracy.

There is a vast difference between putting forth a point of view, honestly held, and intentionally sowing the seeds of confusion. Free speech does not include the right to deceive. Deception is not a point of view. And the right to disagree does not include a right to intentionally subvert the public awareness.

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